Method and apparatus for twisting yarn



Aug. 19, 1969 T. w. GREASON METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR TWISTING YARN Filed Oct. 14, 1966 INVEAUDP THO/14,45 1!. 6954504 7 1 PR OR ART United States Patent 3,461,659 METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR TWISTIN G YARN Thomas W. Greason, Westover Subdivision, Greenwood, S.C. 29646 Filed Oct. 14, 1966, Ser. No. 586,707 Int. Cl. D01h 7/02; D07b 3/02 US. Cl. 57-62 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An apparatus for twisting yarns and at the same time preventing the pick-up of foreign particles which discolor the yarns comprising two caps respectively disposed at the ends of the tube upon which the yarn is wound, said caps having sloped or inclined flanges which cover and abut both ends of the yarn package on the tube.

This invention relates to a method and apparatus for twisting yarn, particularly continuous filament yarn, and more particularly relates to a pair of caps that are placed over the ends of a tube having a large amount of yarn wound therearound so that the tube can be rotated in the yarn twisting function without having the yarn exposed near the ends of the tube collecting dirt, dust and debris during the twisting process.

In the textile industry, it has become common practice for manufacturers of continuous filament yarn to wind a large amount of yarn about cardboard tubes for shipment to the manufacturers of cloth. From the standpoint of yarn manufacturers, it is desirable to wind a large amount of yarn onto a single tube in order to utilize a minimum number of tubes and to facilitate the shipment of a large proportion of yarn in a single package. For instance, one standard size package contains four pounds or six pounds of yarn wound around a tube, which comprises a large length of continuous filament yarn. From the standpoint of the cloth manufacturers, it would be desirable to twist the yarn direct from the tube; however, tubes of this type are wound onto spools which hold approximately one pound and then placed on the uptwister spindle to be twisted. The reason for this two-step procedure is that the tube or spool containing the yarn to he twisted must be rotated at a high rotational velocity in the twisting process, and rotating a tube with four pounds of continuous filament yarn wound thereon would subject the yarns at the ends of the tube to prolonged contact with dust, dirt and debris while the tube was rapidly rotated, thus causing the yarn at this portion of the tube to become dirty. Also, if a cap of conventional construction were placed over the ends of the tube containing the larger amount of yarn, the caps would not be effective to prevent the yarn from becoming dirty, and the construction of the present day caps is such that the yarn would tend to drag around the periphery of the upper cap when only a small amount of yarn remained on the tube, thereby varying the tension of the yarn during the twisting process, causing the yam to stretch and sometimes break.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a cap for a tube containing a large amount of continuous filament yarn that enables the tube to be utilized in the yarn twisting process.

Another object of this invention is to provide a method of transferring yarn from a tube to a spool or tube in such a manner that a twist is imparted to the yarn as it is transferred.

Another object of this invention is to provide a pair of caps for a tube having yarn wound thereabout such that the cap prevents dust, dirt and debris from coming into contact with the yarn disposed at the ends of the tube when the tube is rotated.

3,461,659 Patented Aug. 19, 1969 Another object of this invention is to provide a pair of caps for placement over the ends of a tube containing yarn wound thereabout, whereby the caps prevent a flow of air about the ends of the tube and a vacuum around the periphery of the yarn contained on the tube such that dirt, dust and debris are kept from contacting the yarn contained on the spool.

Another object of this invention is to provide a method of controlling the flow of air about a rotating tube of yarn, such that the flow of air does not contact the yarn until removed from the tube.

Another object of this invention is to provide a method for imparting twist to yarn wherein the method comprises a single operation as opposed to the conventional two-step operation.

Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon reading the following specification, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic view, partially in cross section, of the end caps of the present invention placed over the ends of a tube of yarn, and showing the method by which the yarn is removed from the tube and twisted prior to being wound about a spool;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view, partially in cross section, of the upper cap of the end caps;

FIG. 3 is a partial side elevational view of the upper portion of a tube of yarn, showing the air flow characteristics about the upper end cap as the tube of yarn is rotated;

FIG. 4 is a partial side elevational view of the upper portion of a tube of yarn, similar to FIG. 3, but showing the air flow characteristics about the upper portion of the tube of yarn when a small amount of yarn remains on the tube;

FIG. 5 is a partial elevational view of a tube of yarn having a flat cap placed over its upper end, showing the air flow characteristics about the cap;

FIG. 6 is a partial elevational view of a tube of yarn, similar to FIG. 5, but showing the tube having only a small portion of the yarn remaining thereon;

FIGS. 7 and 8 show the presently utilized two-stage procedure for imparting twist to yarn; FIG. 7 showing the yarn being removed from the large tube of yarn onto a smaller spool, and FIG. 8 showing the yarn being removed from the smaller spool, twisted and wound onto another spool.

Referring now more particularly to the drawing, in which like numerals indicatelike parts throughout the several views, FIGS. 7 and 8 indicate the present method utilized in imparting twist to yarn. The continuous filament yarn is received in the mill in large packages, the yarn 9 being wound about the tube 10. The tube is placed on a stationary mounting 11 and the yarn is removed therefrom and wound about spool 12. The spool 12 is rotated by a roller 13 and the yarn merely unwinds itself from the tube 10, being guided toward the spool 12 through the stationary guide 14, and oscillating guide 15 so that it is evenly spread across the spool 12. When the spool 12 is full, it is removed from its position shown in FIG. 7 and transferred to another machine, as shown in FIG. *8. The spool 12 is rotated by a belt 16 as the yarn is removed therefrom, and guided through the stationary guide 18, oscillating guide 19' and wound about another tube 20. Tube 20 is rotated by the rotating roller 21 in such a manner that the periphery of the yarn wound about the spool 20 moves at a constant velocity, regardless of the amount of yarn wound on tube 20.

As is shown in FIG. 1, the method practiced by the present invention twists the yarn 9 as it is removed from tube 10 and wound onto tube 20. -End caps 22 and 24 are placed over the ends of the tube in such a manner that they cover the yarn disposed at the ends of the tube; Upper end cap 22 is generally circular in configuration and comprises an outwardly extending, sloped annular flange 25 and a recessed center hub 26. The hub includes a disc shaped flat surface 28 and a downwardly extending rim 29 that merges into the flange 25. The rim 29 is of an internal diameter approximately equal to the external diameter of the tube so that it tightly fits about the tube 10.

A plug or attaching member 30 is connected to the interior portion of the upper surface 28 of the hub 26 by means of screws 31. Plug 30 defines an interior aperture 32 that extends centrally of its length, while hub 26 defines aperture 34. Apertures 32 and 34 are coextensive with each other to define a passage through the end cap 22.

Plug 30 is generally circular in configuration and of a smaller diameter than the inside diameter of rim 29 so that an annular space 35 is defined between the plug 30 and the rim 29 to accommodate tube 10.

Flange 25 of upper end cap 22 is sloped downwardly from the hub 26 at an angle corresponding to the angle of the end surface of the yarn 9 on tube 10. The rim 29 of the hub 26 is constructed so that its length is such that the flange 25 will be placed at a distance from the end of the tube 10 so that it lies substantially flat over the end surface 36 of the yarn 9. Thus, the flange 25 virtually abuts the end surface 36 of the yarn 9.

The lower end cap 24 is constructed in a manner substantially similar to the upper end cap 22 except that the flat surface 38 of the hub 37 defines an elongated slot 39 which accommodates a projection 40 of the rotating spindle mechanism 41.

Spindle 42 extends through the aperture defined in the lower end cap 24, through the tube 10, and through the aperture defined in the upper end cap 22. The projection 40 extending through the aperture 39 of the flat surface 38 functions as a connection between the spindle mechanism 41 and the lower end cap 24 so that the spindle mechanism 41 rotates the lower end cap 24, tube 10 and upper end cap 22.

The loose end 45 of the yarn -9 is led from the tube 10 through the stationary guide 46, through an oscillating guide 47, and wound onto spool 20. Spool is rotated by a rotating roller 21, in the conventional manner. The rotation of the tube 10 and the yarn thereon is variable while the rotation of roller 21 is constant so that a predetermined amount of yarn will be removed from the tube 10 upon each rotation. With this construction and arrangement, a constant twist will be imparted to the yarn regardless of the amount of yarn present on the tube 10 and spool 20.

OPERATION When it is desired to twist the yarn 9 onto tube 20, the end caps 22 and 24 are placed over the tube 10 by inserting the tube into the annular space 35 between the plugs and the rims of the end caps. The tube is then placed on the spindle mechanism 41 by inserting the spindle 42 through the apertures extending through the hubs of the end caps, and inserting the projection 40 of the spindle mechanism 41 into the slot 39 of the lower end cap 24. The loose end 45 of the yarn 9 is then threaded through the stationary guide 46, oscillating guide 47, and then wound about the spool 20. Roller 21, which is biased against the periphery of the yarn on the spool 20, is then rotated at a constant angular velocity so as to rotate spool 20, while the spindle mechanism 41 is rotated at a constant angular velocity so that tube 10 and yarn 9, and their end caps 22 and 24 are rotated. As the yarn is removed from tube 10, it is twisted, due to the rotation of tube 10, as it is led by the guides 46 and 47 toward spool 20.

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, it will be seen that the rotation of end cap 22 causes air to flow radially outwardly of the end cap and yarn 9. This flow of air is induced by air coming into contact with the end cap 22, and being moved by friction in a circular direction, and then outwardly due to its centrifugal force. The air tends to flow in the direction indicated by the arrows 50 of FIG. 3 when a large amount of yarn 9 is present on the tube 10, and in the direction as indicated by the arrows 51 of FIG. 4 when a small amount of yarn is present on the tube. It should be understood that rotation of the yarn 9 causes the loose end 45 to react due to centrifugal force to flair outwardly from the tube 10 a small amount. Of course, when the loose end 45 is threaded through the guide 46, the centrifugal force is felt on that portion of the loose end 45 near the periphery of the yarn 9 so that it tends to travel in a direction so that it takes the shape as shown in FIG. 3. It will be noted that the air flow as indicated by arrows 50 tends to maintain the loose end 45 in this configuration and hold it outwardly of the periphery of flange 25, further insuring that the loose end 45 will not come into contact with the periphery of the flange 25 and that the yarn is unwound from the tube 10 in a free state.

The flow of air as indicated by arrows 50 in FIG. 3 is such that any dirt, trash or debris contained in the air will not come into contact with the end surface 36 of the yarn 9, but due to centrifugal force, will be thrown outwardly of the outer periphery of the yarn 9. Furthermore, this flow of air tends to drawn a vacuum between the end caps 22 and 24 so that the end caps are forced by air pressure toward each other and tend to rest on the end surfaces 36 of the yarn 9.

As the yarn 9 is unwound from the tube 10, it eventually takes the configuration shown in FIG. 4 so that a substantial distance is present between the outer periphery of the yarn 9 and the outer periphery of the flange 25. When the yarn 9 is in this state, the flow of air about the end caps is substantially the same; however, there is some slight turbulence encountered about the periphery of the flange 25 so that some air may loop inwardly of the perimeter of the flange. At this point, however, the periphery of the flange 25 is disposed inwardly of the ends 36 of the yarn present on the tube 10 so that any turbulent air that might be encountered between the end caps 22 and 24 will be localized inwardly of the ends 36 of the yarn present on the tube. Furthermore, the rotation of the yarn 9 on the tube 10' causes the air located between the end caps 22 and 24 to rotate, and the centrifugal forces of the mass of air will tend to impel the air outwardly of the yarn 9 so that any dirt, trash or debris carried'by the air will also be thrust outwardly from the yarn 9. Accordingly, the dirt, trash or debris carried by the air will be disspelled outwardly of the yarn 9 before it comes into contact with the outer peipheral surface of the yarn or its end surfaces 36.

The flow of air shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 can be contrasted with the flow of air that would be encountered if the flanges of the end caps 22 and 24- were not sloped. FIG. 5 shows that a flat flange 55 would not rest flat against the end surface 36 of the yarn 9 so that a gap between the end surface 36 and the flange 55 would be maintained. The flow of air as indicated by arrows 52 in FIG. 5 would be such that the turbulence encountered at the periphery of the flange 55 would allow some air to flow over the end surface 36 of the yarn 9. Of course, any dirt, trash or debris carried by such air eddies would come into contact with the yarn, thus fouling the end surfaces of the yarn with dirt. While the gap would be reduced as the yarn is removed from the tube 10, as is shown in FIG. 6, the turbulent air around the periphery of the flat flange 55 would not be disposed inwardly of the end surface 36 of the yarn 9 so that a portion of the turbulent air occasionally encounters the end surface 36 of the yarn. Furthermore, the flow of air over the upper surface of the end cap would be such that the configuration of the loose end 45 of the yarn would bloom or blossom outwardly of the tube. In other words, the main effect felt from the flow of air over the upper surface of the end cap would be an outward flow as opposed to an outward and downward flow as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. Thus, there would be a greater tendency for the loose end 45 of the yarn 9 to come into contact with the periphery of the flat flange 55, thus causing the loose end of the yarn to occasionally scrape and bind over the periphery of the flange 55. This, of course, might cause the yarn to break or stretch in the twisting process.

At this point, it should be obvious that the end caps shown in FIGS. 1-4 are of a configuration that prevents the flow of air over the portion of the yarn adjacent the ends of the tube from coming into contact with the yarn and causing the yarn to become dirty when the tube is rotated. Of course, this enables the cloth manufacturer to impart a twist to the yarn as it is removed from the tube originally received from the yarn manufacturer. This effectively elimintes the step shown in FIG. 7 of the drawing, which is the first step of the commonly used two-step process of imparting a twist to yarn. Obviously, the elimination of the first step of the conventional process results in a large savings to the cloth manufacturer; the savings resulting from the elimination of equipment and personnel required to maintain such equipment. Furthermore, the use of a single step process has further advantages in that the yarn is handled only a single time between the time it is removed from the manufacturers tube, twisted and wound onto spool 20, thus presenting only a single opportunity for breakage or damage to the yarn and for the yarn to become dirty. The fact that the yarn does not come into contact with the periphery of the flange 25 of the upper end cap allows the yarn to be unwound from the tube 10 with a constant tension.

The simplified construction of the end caps is such that the manufacture and maintenance thereof is inexpensive. Accordingly, an extremely inexpensive method is provided for reducing the amount of machinery and personnel necessary and steps taken in the process of imparting twist to yarn.

What is claimed as invention is:

1. A method of twisting yarn comprising:

rotating a tube wrapped with a length of yarn about a vertical axis at a given angular velocity,

rotating a spindle about a horizontal axis at a given tangential velocity,

removing said yarn from said tube in a direction directed generally along said vertical axis,

twisting and Winding said yarn about said spindle in one process,

shielding the end surfaces of the portion of the yarn wrapped on said tube from air flow, and

generating an air flow along the end surfaces of the yarn and spaced therefrom to discharge any falling debris across the ends of the yarn and outwardly of the periphery of the yarn so as not to contaminate the yarn on said tube while at the same time displacing the yarn being removed from said tube away from the yarn on said tube to prevent damaging of the yarn as it is removed.

2. A method of removing yarn fom a tube comprising:

rotating the tube about its vertically oriented longitudinal axis,

removing the yarn from the tube in a direction extending generally along said axis,

shielding the end surfaces of the yarn present on the tube from air currents, and

generating an air flow along the end surface of the yarn and spaced therefrom to discharge any falling debris across the ends of the yarn and outwardly of the periphery of the yarn so as .not to contaminate the yarn on said tube while at the same time displacing the yarn being removed from said tube away from the yarn on said tube to prevent damaging of the yarn as it is removed.

3. An end cap of the type to be connected to the end of a tube of yarn and utilized in the removal of yarn from the tube comprising a hub including a flat solid circular surface and an annular rim extending axially of said surface, an annular flange connected to and extending away from and outwardly of said annular rim and sloped inwardly toward the yarns, a plug connected to said circular surface, said plug having an outside diameter smaller than the inside diameter of said rim whereby said plug and said rim define an annular tube gripping space.

4. An end cap as claimed in claim 3 wherein said flat circular surface of said rim defines a central aperture and said plug defines a central aperture coextensive with the central aperture of said surface.

5. Apparatus for removing yarn from a tube of yarn comprising:

means for rotating a tube of yarn about a vertical axis,

means for pulling the loose end of said yarn from said tube in a direction generally coextensive with said vertical axis, and

means for shielding the yarn exposed at the ends of the tube of yarn from air eddies, including an end cap positioned over the upper end of the tube having an anular conical flange defining a smooth upper surface lying in juxtaposition with the upper end of the yarn on the tube and said upper surface generating an air flow thereover above the yarn to discharge any falling debris outwardly of the yarn and force the yarn being removed from the tube away from said flange.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 602,240 4/ 1898 Pendleton 242-118.61 2,720,179 10/ 1955 Strocco 242-11861 X 2,729,050 1/1956 Honig 57-59 X 2,771,756 11/1956 Burleson et a1. 242-128 X 2,946,176 7/ 1960 Higgins 57-62 3,339,862 9/1967 Parker 57-5883 X 2,211,260 5/1941 Herr 242-128 X 3,013,378 12/1961 Newton 57-59 X FOREIGN PATENTS 1,361,717 4/ 1964 France.

531,664 8/1931 Germany.

893,319 10/ 1953 Germany.

WILLIAM S. BURDEN, Primary Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 

